UC-NRLF 


VIGILS 


VIGILS 


BY  ALINE  KILMER 


NEW  ^SJr   YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,    1921, 
BY  GEORGE    H.   DORAN    COMPANY 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


TO 

MY  MOTHER 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

For  permission  to  use  many  of  the 
poems  in  this  book,  I  wish  to  thank  the 
editors  of  America,  The  Bookman, 
Good  Housekeeping,  House  and  Gar 
den,  The  Lyric,  The  Outlook,  Poetry: 
A  Magazine  of  Verse,  The  Queen's 
Work,  Scribner's  Magazine  and  The 
Sun  Dial. 


CONTENTS 


* 


THINGS,  13 

IF  I  HAD  LOVED  YOU  MORE,  l£ 
ATONEMENT,  1 6 
THE  GARDEN,   IJ 
THE  NIGHT  COMETH,  1 8 
THE  TOUCH  OF  TEARS,  2O 
SONG  AGAINST  CHILDREN,  22 
TO  A  CHILD  SHUT  IN  A  BEDROOM,  24 
-  TRIBUTE,  25 
VIOLIN  SONG,  26 
THE  STIRRUP  CUP,  28 
UNLEARNING,   29 
PERVERSITY,  3! 
SHARDS,  32 
CHARMIAN'S  SONG,  33 
LIGHT  LOVER,  34 
WORDS  TO  AN  IRISH  AIR,  36 
FOR  ALL  LADIES  OF  SHALOTT,  37 

"THE  HEART  KNOWETH  ITS  OWN  BITTERNESS,"  38 
TO  SAPPHO,  ABOUT  HER  APPLE,  39 

[ix] 


Contents 

TO  AN  INTRUDER,  40 

TOUR  DE  FORCE,  4! 

VIGILS,  42 

VICTORY,  43 

BOUND,  44 

KNOWLEDGE,  45 

DAIMON,  46 

ONE  SHALL  BE  TAKEN  AND  THE  OTHER  LEFT,  48 

THE  HARP,  49 

THE  GIFT,  50 


VIGILS 


VIGILS 


THINGS 

SOMETIMES  when  I  am  at  tea  with  you 

I  catch  my  breath 
At  a  thought  that  is  old  as  the  world  is  old 

And  more  bitter  than  death. 

It  is  that  the  spoon  that  you  just  laid  down 

And  the  cup  that  you  hold 
May  be  here  shining  and  insolent 

When  you  are  still  and  cold. 

Your  careless  note  that  I  laid  away 

May  leap  to  my  eyes  like  flame 

When  the  world  has  almost  forgotten  your  voice 
Or  the  sound  of  your  name. 

The  golden  Virgin  da  Vinci  drew 

May  smile  on  over  my  head, 
And  daffodils  nod  in  the  silver  vase 

When  you  are  dead. 

[13] 


Vigils 

So  let  moth  and  dust  corrupt  and  thieves 
Break  through  and  I  shall  be  glad, 

Because  of  the  hatred  I  bear  to  things 
Instead  of  the  love  I  had. 

For  life  seems  only  a  shuddering  breath, 
A  smothered,  desperate  cry, 

And  things  have  a  terrible  permanence 
When  people  die. 


[14] 


Vigils 


IF  I  HAD  LOVED  YOU  MORE 

IF  I  had  loved  you  more  God  would  have  had  pity; 

He  would  never  have  left  me  here  in  this  desolate 

place, 
Left  me  to  go  on  my  knees  to  the  door  of  Heaven 

Crying  in  vain  for  a  little  sight  of  your  face. 

How  could  I  know  that  the  earth  would  be  dark 
without  you? 

For  you  were  always  the  lover  and  I  the  friend.. 
Now  if  there  were  any  hope  that  I  might  find  you 

I  would  go  seeking  you  to  the  world's  end. 

"God  is  a  jealous  God.    You  have  loved  too  wildly, 

You  have  loved  too  well!"  one  said. 
I  bowed  my  head,  but  my  heart  in  scorn  was  crying 

That  you  whom  I  had  not  loved  enough  are  dead. 

I  look  on  my  heart  and  see  it  is  hard  and  narrow, 
That  my  loves  are  slight  and  last  but  a  little  space. 

But  why  do  I  go  on  my  knees  to  the  door  of  Heaven 
Crying  for  only  a  little  sight  of  your  face? 


Vigils 


ATONEMENT 

WHEN  a  storm  comes  up  at  night  and  the  wind  is 

crying, 

When  the  trees  are  moaning  like  masts  on  labor 
ing  ships, 

I  wake  in  fear  and  put  out  my  hand  to  find  you 
With  your  name  on  my  lips. 

No  pain  that  the  heart  can  hold  is  like  to  this  one — 
To  call,  forgetting,  into  aching  space, 

To  reach  out  confident  hands  and  find  beside  you 
Only  an  empty  place. 

This  should  atone  for  the  hours  when  I  forget  you. 

Take  then  my  offering,  clean  and  sharp  and  sweet, 
An  agony  brighter  than  years  of  dull  remembrance. 

I  lay  it  at  your  feet. 


[16] 


Vigils 


THE  GARDEN 

AND  now  it  is  all  to  be  done  over  again, 

And  what  will  come  of  it  only  God  can  know. 

What  has  become  of  the  furrows  ploughed  by  pain, 
And  the  plants  set  row  on  row  ? 

Where  are  the  lines  of  beautiful  bending  trees, 
The  gracious  springs,  the  depths  of  delicate  shade, 

The  sunny  spaces  loud  with  the  humming  of  bees, 
And  the  grassy  paths  in  the  garden  my  life  had 
made? 

Lightning   and  earthquake  now  have  blasted   and 
riven ; 

Even  the  trees  that  I  trusted  could  not  stand : 
Now  it  lies  here  to  the  bitter  winds  of  heaven, 

A  barren  and  a  desolated  land. 


[17] 


Vigils 


THE  NIGHT  COMETH 

MY  garden  walks  were  smooth  and  green 

And  edged  with  box  trees  left  and  right, 
An  old  grey  sun-dial  stood  between 

Two  rounded  bee  hives,  low  and  white. 
My  hollyhocks  grew  tall  and  red, 

My  larkspur  thrust  its  lances  high : 
"The  Night  Cometh,"  the  sun-dial  said, 

And  I  hated  its  wisdom  and  hurried  by. 

I  watch  the  sun-dial  as  I  wait 

And  hope  to  see  its  slow  hand  fly. 
The  stately  poplars  at  the  gate 

Are  funeral  torches  flaring  high. 
The  scent  of  wallflowers  breaks  my  heart, 

The  box  is  bitter  in  the  sun, 
The  poppies  burst  their  sheathes  apart 

And  tell  of  rest  when  pain  is  done. 

The  hawthorn  shakes  a  ghostly  head 
And  breathes  of  death  at  fullest  noon. 
[18] 


Vigils 

"The  Night  Cometh,"  the  sun-dial  said — 
The  night  can  never  come  too  soon. 

0  sun-dial,  hurry  your  creeping  hand, 

Let  the  shadows  fall  where  the  brown  bees  hum, 

1  watch  and  wait  where  the  low  hives  stand, 

Let  the  night  come,  let  the  night  come ! 


Vigils 


THE  TOUCH  OF  TEARS 

MICHAEL  walks  in  autumn  leaves 

Rustling  leaves  and  fading  grasses, 
And  his  little  music-box 

Tinkles  faintly  as  he  passes. 
It's  a  gay  and  jaunty  tune 

If  the  hands  that  play  were  clever: 
Michael  plays  it  like  a  dirge, 

Moaning  on  and  on  forever. 

While  his  happy  eyes  grow  big, 

Big  and  innocent  and  soulful, 
Wistful,  halting  little  notes 

Rise,  unutterably  doleful, 
Telling  of  all  childish  griefs — 

Baffled  babies  sob  forsaken, 
Birds  fly  off  and  bubbles  burst, 

Kittens  sleep  and  will  not  waken, 

Michael,  it's  the  touch  of  tears. 

Though  you  sing  for  very  gladness, 
Others  will  not  see  you  mirth; 
[20] 


Vigils 

They  will  mourn  your  fancied  sadness. 
Though  you  laugh  at  them  in  scorn, 

Show  your  happy  heart  for  token, 
Michael,  you'll  protest  in  vain — 

They  will  swear  your  heart  is  broken ! 


[21] 


Vigils 


SONG  AGAINST  CHILDREN 


O  THE  barberry  bright,  the  barberry  bright ! 

It  stood  on  the  mantelpiece  because  of  the  height. 

Its  stems  were  slender  and  thorny  and  tall 

And  it  looked  most  beautiful  against  the  grey  wall. 

But  Michael  climbed  up  there  in  spite  of  the  height 

And  he  ate  all  the  berries  off  the  barberry  bright. 

O  the  round  holly  wreath,  the  round  holly  wreath ! 
It  hung  in  the  window  with  ivy  beneath. 
It  was  plump  and  prosperous,  spangled  with  red 
And  I  thought  it  would  cheer  me  although  I  were 

dead. 

But  Deborah  climbed  on  a  table  beneath 
And  she  ate  all  the  berries  off  the  round  holly  wreath. 

O  the  mistletoe  bough,  the  mistletoe  bough ! 
Could  anyone  touch  it?    I  did  not  see  how. 

[22] 


Vigils 

I  hung  it  up  high  that  it  might  last  long, 
I  wreathed  it  with  ribbons  and  hailed  it  with  song. 
But  Christopher  reached  it,  I  do  not  know  how, 
And  he  ate  all  the  berries  off  the  mistletoe  bough. 


[23] 


Vigils 


TO  A  CHILD  SHUT  IN  A  BEDROOM 

O  DEAR,  O  desolate  bright  head ! 

O  drooping  mouth  and  shaken  chin ! 

How  could  I  ever  lock  you  in  ? 
They  were  too  harsh,  the  words  I  said. 
Should  I  have  only  smiled,  instead, 

At  one  small  funny  childish  sin? 

Already  my  regrets  begin. 
What  would  I  do  if  you  were  dead? 
Yet  there  is  wonder  in  that  place, 

And  I  could  show  you,  did  I  dare, 

How  to  throw  back  your  tangled  hair, 
And  in  a  round,  mysterious  place, 
Looking  upon  your  mirrored  face, 

Find  comfort  in  the  beauty  there. 


[24] 


Vigils 


TRIBUTE 

DEBORAH  and  Christopher  brought  me  dandelions, 
Kenton  brought  me  buttercups  with  summer  on 

their  breath, 
But    Michael   brought    an    autumn   leaf,    like    lacy 

filigree, 
A  wan  leaf,  a  ghost  leaf,  beautiful  as  death. 

Death  in  all  loveliness,  fragile  and  exquisite, 

Who  but  he  would  choose  it  from  all  the  blossom 
ing  land? 
Who  but  he  would  find  it  where  it  hid  among  the 

flowers? 
Death  in  all  loveliness,  he  laid  it  in  my  hand. 


[25] 


Vigils 


VIOLIN  SONG 

THE  thing  that  I  am  seeking 

I  know  I  shall  not  find. 
A  wistful  voice  is  crying 

This  sorrow  in  my  mind. 
I  know  I  shall  not  find  it 

However  far  I  go, 
But  I  shall  always  seek  it; 

My  heart  has  told  me  so. 

Though  I  must  always  wander 

I  do  not  find  it  sweet: 
There  is  no  journey's  ending 

To  draw  my  restless  feet; 
There  is  no  distant  vision 

To  help  me  on  my  way; 
I  know  my  quest  is  hopeless 

But  yet  I  may  not  stay. 

The  thing  that  I  am  seeking 
Should  not  be  far  to  seek; 
I  hear  its  haunting  echo 

[26] 


Vigils 

Through  every  word  I  speak. 
So  I  shall  always  seek  it 

Down  all  the  roads  I  go, 
But  I  shall  never  find  it; 

My  heart  has  told  me  so. 


Vigils 


THE  STIRRUP  CUP 

HERE  where  each  road-worn  one 
Rests  till  the  night  is  done, 

In  the  grey  dawning  I  saw  my  horse  stand, 
And  as  I  left  the  inn 
With  his  smooth  face  of  sin 

Smiling,  mine  host  with  a  cup  in  his  hand. 

"Drink  now,  my  merry  friend, 
Drink  to  your  journey's  end. 

Let  not  the  hour  of  our  parting  be  sad. 
Follow  what  road  you  will 
One  thought  will  cheer  you  still — 

This  warm  and  fragrant  cup  you  shall  have  had. 

"Traveller,  the  ride  is  sweet, 
God  speed  your  flying  feet, 

Thinking  you  hasten  to  lover  and  friend. 
Gather  the  bridle  up, 
Drain  dry  the  stirrup  cup, 

Only  a  cup  of  tears  waits  at  the  end." 

[28] 


Vigils 


UNLEARNING 

WHEN  I  was  young  my  heart  was  old, 
My  heart  was  rich  and  very  wise : 

Now  all  its  wisdom  has  been  told 

And  all  its  wealth  is  fairy  gold 
And  all  its  joy  futilities. 

My  heart  would  say,  when  I  was  young, 

"It  would  be  well  to  grieve  no  more. 
The  griefs  you  sing  had  all  been  sung 
Before  you  learned  your  mother-tongue, 
And  all  your  tears  been  shed  before. " 

When  I  was  young  my  heart  would  say: 

"What  childish  things  are  these  you  seek? 
The  piper's  price  is  large  to  pay 
And  there  will  come  a  reckoning  day!" 
In  this  wise  way  my  heart  would  speak. 

But  now  it  cries  continually. 

It  says :  "None  ever  felt  as  you ! 

[29] 


Vigils 

Cast  prudence  to  the  winds,  and  see 
How  happy  I  can  make  you  be." 
And  some  of  what  it  says  is  true. 


[30] 


Vigils 


PERVERSITY 

ALL  my  life  I  have  loved  where  I  was  not  loved. 
And  always  those  whom  I  did  not  love  loved  me; 

Only  the  God  who  made  my  wild  heart  knows 
Why  this  should  be. 

Oh,  I  am  strange,  inscrutable,  and  proud; 

You  cannot  prove  me  though  you  try  and  try. 
I'll  keep  your  love  alive  and  wondering 

Until  you  die. 


[31] 


Vigils 


SHARDS 

I  CAN  never  remake  the  thing  I  have  destroyed; 

I  brushed  the  golden  dust  from  the  moth's  bright 

wing, 
I  called  down  wind  to  shatter  the  cherry-blossoms, 

I  did  a  terrible  thing. 

I  feared  that  the  cup  might  fall,  so  I  flung  it  from 

me; 

I  feared  that  the  bird  might  fly,  so  I  set  it  free; 
I  feared  that  the  dam  might  break,  so  I  loosed  the 

river : 
May  its  waters  cover  me. 


[32] 


Vigils 


CHARMIAN'S  SONG 

I'M  glad  I  have  but  a  little  heart — 
For  my  heart  is  very  small — 

It  makes  it  free  to  come  and  go 
And  no  one  cares  at  all. 

I  give  my  heart  for  a  tender  word, 

For  a  gentle  look  or  touch, 
And  the  one  who  has  it  never  knows 

And  it  does  not  hurt  me  much. 

If  my  heart  were  great  and  I  gave  it  away 
Then  all  the  world  would  see, 

But  my  heart  is  only  a  little  thing 
And  it  does  not  trouble  me. 

I  may  give  my  little  heart  unseen, 

It  is  so  small  and  light, 
And  only  very  wakeful  things 

Can  hear  it  cry  at  night. 


[33] 


Vigils 


LIGHT  LOVER 

WHY  don't  you  go  back  to  the  sea,  my  dear? 

I  am  not  one  who  would  hold  you; 
The  sea  is  the  woman  you  really  love, 

So  let  hers  be  the  arms  that  fold  you. 
Your  bright  blue  eyes  are  a  sailor's  eyes, 

Your  hungry  heart  is  a  sailor's,  too. 

And  I  know  each  port  that  you  pass  through 
Will  give  one  lass  both  bonny  and  wise 
Who  has  learned  light  love  from  a  sailor's  eyes. 


If  you  ever  go  back  to  the  sea,  my  dear, 
I  shall  miss  you — yes,  can  you  doubt  it? 

But  women  have  lived  through  worse  than  that 
So  why  should  we  worry  about  it? 

Take  your  restless  heart  to  the  restless  sea, 
Your  light,  light  love  to  a  lighter  lass 
[34] 


Vigils 

Who  will  smile  when  you  come  and  smile  when 

you  pass. 

Here  you  can  only  trouble  me. 
Oh,  I  think  you  had  better  go  back  to  sea ! 


[351 


Vigils 


WORDS  TO  AN  IRISH  AIR 

IF  I  had  a  lover,  now,  who  would  he  be? 
Yourself  with  your  laughter,  your  gay  gallantry? 
Yet  I'd  know  when  you  kissed  me  your  heart  was 

not  mine 
But  kneeling  in  tears  at  a  lost  lady's  shrine. 

Or  if  I  should  seek  him  who  loves  me  too  well, 
Do  you  think  with  my  head  on  his  breast  he  could 

tell? 

Would  he  know  that  however  I  strove  to  be  true 
My  vagabond  heart  was  still  following  you? 

This  dicing  with  hearts  is  a  perilous  game : 
Be  it  one  or  another  the  end  is  the  same. 
There  is  sure  to  be  sorrow  however  they  fall, 
So  I  think  I  shall  not  have  a  lover  at  all. 


[36] 


Vigils 


FOR  ALL  LADIES  OF  SHALOTT 

THE  web  flew  out  and  floated  wide. 

Poor  lady !  I  was  with  her  then. 
She  gathered  up  her  piteous  pride, 

But  she  could  never  weave  again. 

The  mirror  cracked  from  side  to  side; 

I  saw  its  silver  shadows  go. 
"The  curse  has  come  on  me 1"  she  cried. 

Poor  lady !     I  had  told  her  so. 

She  was  so  proud :  she  would  not  hide. 

She  only  laughed  and  tried  to  sing. 
But  singing,  in  her  song  she  died. 

She  did  not  profit  anything. 


[37] 


Vigils 


"THE  HEART  KNOWETH  ITS  OWN 
BITTERNESS" 

THE  heart  knoweth?    If  this  be  true  indeed 

Then  the  thing  that  I  bear  in  my  bosom  is  not  a 

heart; 
For  it  knows  no  more  than  a  hollow,  whispering 

reed 

That  answers  to  every  wind. 
I  am  sick  of  the  thing !    I  think  we  had  better  part. 

My  heart  will  come  to  any  piper's  calling, 

A  fool  in  motley  that  dances  for  any  king; 
But  my  body  knows,  and  its  tears  unbidden  falling 

Say  that  my  heart  has  sinned. 
You  would  have  my  heart?     You  may.     I  am 
sick  of  the  thing. 


[38] 


Vigils 


TO  SAPPHO,  ABOUT  HER  APPLE 

THE  highest  apple  swinging  in  the  treetop 
Fell  in  my  two  hands,  eagerly  uplifted. 
For  though  I  knew  its  height  was  half  its  fairness, 
Still  I  would  have  it. 

Now  I  am  wise  with  centuries  of  wisdom. 
I  lift  my  voice  to  give  your  ashes  comfort: 
Sappho,  the  tempting  fruit  that  hung  above  you 
Was  hard  and  bitter. 


[39] 


Vigils 


TO  AN  INTRUDER 

BECAUSE  I  show  a  guarded  face 
To  all  the  world  but  one  or  two, 

And  in  my  heart's  most  secret  place 
Consider  lilies,  why  should  you 

Whose  roses  grow  in  common  ground 

Profane  the  cloister  I  have  found? 


[40] 


Vigils 


TOUR  DE  FORCE 

SMILINGLY,  out  of  my  pain, 
I  have  woven  a  little  song; 

You  may  take  it  away  with  you. 
I  shall  not  sing  it  again, 

But  when  you  have  learned  it  through 
It  will  keep  you  brave  and  strong. 
I  wove  it  out  of  my  pain : 

There  is  not  a  word  of  it  true. 


[41] 


Vigils 


VIGILS 

ONCE  I  knelt  in  my  shining  mail 

Here  by  Thine  altar  all  the  night. 

My  heart  beat  proudly,  my  prayer  rose  loudly, 
But  I  looked  to  my  armor  to  win  the  fight. 

God,  my  lance  was  a  broken  reed, 
My  mace  a  toy  for  a  child's  delight. 

My  helm  is  battered,  my  shield  is  shattered, 
I  am  stiff  with  wounds,  and  I  lost  the  fight. 

Low  I  kneel  through  the  night  again, 
Hear  my  prayer,  if  my  prayer  be  right! 

Take  for  Thy  token  my  proud  heart  broken. 
God,  guide  my  arm!     I  go  back  to  the  fight. 


[42] 


Vigils 


VICTORY 

I  SHEATH  my  sword.     In  mercy  go. 
Turn  back  from  me  your  hopeless  eyes, 
For  in  them  all  my  anger  dies : 

I  cannot  face  a  beaten  foe. 

My  cause  was  just,  the  fight  was  sweet. 

Go  from  me,  O  mine  enemy, 

Before,  in  shame  of  victory, 
You  find  me  kneeling  at  your  feet. 


[43] 


Vigils 


BOUND 

IF  I  had  loved  you,  soon,  ah,  soon  I  had  lost  you. 
Had  I  been  kind  you  had  kissed  me  and  gone  your 

faithless  way. 
The  kiss  that  I  would  not  give  is  the  kiss  that 

your  lips  are  holding: 

Now  you  are  mine  forever,  because  of  all  I  have 
cost  you. 

You  think  that  you  are  free  and  have  given  over  your 

sighing, 
You  think  that  from  my  coldness  your  love  has 

flown  away: 
But  mine  are  the  hands  you  shall  dream  that  your 

own  are  holding, 

And  mine  is  the  face  you  shall  look  for  when  you 
are  dying. 


[44] 


Vigils 


KNOWLEDGE 

SOME  learn  it  in  their  youth, 
Some  after  bitter  y^ars : 

There  is  no  escape  from  the  truth 
Though  we  drown  in  our  tears. 

Many  die  when  they  see 

That  the  terrible  thing  is  true. 

But  it  has  been  easy  for  me : 
I  always  knew. 


[45] 


Vigils 


DAIMON 

I  SAW  her  after  many  years. 

The  blue-black  hair  that  had  swept  to  her  knees 

Was  dull  and  grey.    No  one  would  turn 
To  look  at  her  thin  face  worn  with  tears. 

I  felt  my  own  wet  eyelids  burn, 
For  she  had  been  queen  of  my  memories. 

She  had  had  a  face  as  bright  as  the  sun. 
"Now  she  is  broken  and  crushed,"  I  said. 

"The  demon  of  mischief  that  lurked  before 
In  her  hazel  eyes  is  beaten  and  done. 
I  hope  we  never  meet  any  more, 
For  the  thing  I  loved  best  in  her  is  dead." 

But  then  she  turned  and  smiled  at  me, 
And  looking  out  of  that  mask  of  pain 
The  laughing  imp  behind  her  eyes 
[46] 


vigils 

Was  just  as  gay  as  it  used  to  be. 

That  kind  of  a  devil  never  dies. 
I  put  her  back  on  her  throne  again, 


[471 


Vigils 


ONE  SHALL  BE  TAKEN  AND  THE 
OTHER  LEFT 

THERE  is  no  Rachel  any  more 
And  so  it  does  not  really  matter. 
Leah  alone  is  left,  and  she 
Goes  her  own  way  inscrutably. 
Soft-eyed  she  goes,  content  to  scatter 
Fine  sand  along  a  barren  shore 
Where  there  was  sand  enough  before : 
Or  from  a  well  that  has  no  water 
Raising  a  futile  pitcher  up 
Lifts  to  her  lips  an  empty  cup. 
Now  she  is  Laban's  only  daughter: 
There  is  no  Rachel  any  more. 


[48] 


Vigils 


THE  HARP 

I  HAVE  a  harp  of  many  strings 
But  two  are  enough  for  me : 

One  is  for  love  and  one  for  death; 
And  what  would  the  third  one  be? 

Before  I  learn  another  note 

I  may  forget  and  go, 
So  while  my  hand  is  light  and  sure 

I  play  on  the  strings  I  know. 


[49] 


'Vigils 


THE  GIFT 

HE  has  taken  away  the  things  that  I  loved  best 

Love  and  youth  and  the  harp  that  knew  my  hand. 
Laughter  alone  is  left  of  all  the  rest. 

Does  He  mean  that  I  may  fill  my  days  with 

laughter, 

Or  will  it,  too,  slip  through  my  fingers  like  spilt 
sand? 


Why  should  I  beat  my  wings  like  a  bird  in  a  net, 
When  I  can  be  still  and  laugh  at  my  own  desire? 

The  wise  may  shake  their  heads  at  me,  but  yet 
I  should  be  sad  without  my  little  laughter. 
The  crackling  of  thorns  is  not  so  bad  a  fire. 

Will  He  take  away  even  the  thorns  from  under  the 

pot, 

And  send  rne  cold  and  supperless  to  bed? 
[50] 


Vigils 

He  has  been  good  to  me.    I  know  he  will  not. 

He  gave  me  to  keep  a  little  foolish  laughter. 
I  shall  not  lose  it  even  when  I  am  dead. 


15  1932 

MAY    1 1  „ 


Wits- £  44)36 


LD  21-50m-8,.32 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


